Machines such as, for example, dozers, motor graders, and other types of heavy equipment are used to perform a variety of tasks. Some of these tasks require very precise and accurate control over operation of the grading blade of the machine. Such control may be difficult at lower machine speeds, particularly due to blade bounce caused by grouser impacts with the work surface. The resulting blade bounce often causes the machine to produce an uneven graded surface. Because of these factors, the completion of some tasks can be expensive, labor intensive, time consuming, and inefficient.
One method to provide control over a blade is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2009/069987 A1 (“the '987 publication”) filed by Omelchenko on Sep. 9, 2008. The '987 publication describes a system that estimates a blade height and slope angle based on signals received from a global navigation satellite system and an inertial measurement unit, both mounted on the blade. The inputs are used in connection with a control algorithm to control the blade.
Although the '987 publication describes a system for blade control, the disclosed system is not configured to remove periodic signal noise from a blade positioning signal, nor does it account for factors such as machine speed that may adversely affect the signal to the blade actuators. Furthermore, the '987 publication describes a system that controls the height and pitch of a machine blade using a combination of an inertial sensor and a global navigation system, and does not address any factors that may vary with time, such as operational speed, machine configuration, and/or grouser impact frequency.
The disclosed system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.